Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams Makes Controversial Announcement for 2024 Season

When you think about Caleb Williams, what immediately comes to mind is his dynamic playmaking abilities. How he scrambles and moves out of the pocket to evade pressure, only to then make a sidewinding deep throw down the field, is what led the Chicago Bears to pick him No. 1 overall in this year's draft. But Williams is also a unique individual.

You won’t often find the former USC quarterback getting criticized for his play on the field. Williams’ criticism typically comes from how he chooses to express himself.

The best example of this was when Williams painted his fingernails for the 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game against the Utah Utes. He painted the words "F*** Utah." Those critics may have been a bit quieter if the Trojans hadn’t been beaten by the Utes 47-24 that evening. Williams went 28-for-41 with 363 yards, one interception, and another 21 yards rushing.

Williams continued to paint his nails before every game during the 2023 season, usually with a different design. So, naturally, the question was whether he would continue this trend during his NFL career with the Bears.

That’s exactly what the hosts of Barstool Sports Pardon My Take podcast asked him.

“Yeah, I’m gonna do it this year,” Williams confirmed.

Williams has yet to paint his nails before any preseason games, and there’s a reason why.

Williams has actually been having his nails painted since his last year of high school, letting his mom, a nail technician, do them for him, according to CBS Sports .

With every fresh coat of paint needs to come a fresh idea, which he is saving for the regular season and potential postseason, he said.

“I’m trying to make sure I can do it for games… because I’ll run out of ideas,” Williams said.

Williams did confirm one idea that he won’t be doing, which is putting the f-word on his nails again like he did in the Utah game.

“I will not be doing that. I’m trying to keep, you know, good-spirited things on my nails,” Williams said.

As host Dan “Big Cat” Katz suggested, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would probably be none too pleased if this year’s first-round pick—or any player, for that matter—decided to write explicit language on their body or uniform. Williams would likely be hit with a fine or possible suspension if that were to happen. It's doubtful the Bears organization would care much for that either.

Williams admits that painting his nails “fires him up,” but that he can “use other stuff” to do that. He's certainly looked that way so far, though, having a solid preseason. But no matter what and when the young signal-caller decides to paint his nails, it's sure to meet met with controversary, especially if the Bears lose.

The Bears and their new starting quarterback will begin their 2024 regular season on the road against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 8.